Meta is building virtual world open to app makers, CEO tells antitrust court
Meta Platforms Inc boss Mark Zuckerberg defended his acquisition of a virtual reality fitness app to an antitrust judge on Tuesday, arguing that his company was helping to build a nascent virtual reality industry, not dominate it.
Zuckerberg testified in federal court in San Jose, California, that owning app maker Within Unlimited was "not that critical" to Meta's ambitions, saying he primarily aimed to build communications tools and a platform for apps from different developers.
On fitness apps, he said, "it's less important that we own the experiences than that they exist." He said he was keen to see other firms build key productivity and gaming apps to draw a mass audience to virtual and augmented reality.
Zuckerberg was defending Meta's proposed acquisition in a high-profile trial over the future of the social media company's budding metaverse business. The Federal Trade Commission has accused Meta of trying to buy its way to the top of the VR industry.
FTC lawyers kicked off the proceedings by asking him about an internal email Zuckerberg wrote in 2015 where he said he expected Meta to build "most of the apps and software services" for the VR industry.
Zuckerberg replied that major platform owners tend to build the most popular apps in their area of expertise, likening Meta's emphasis on communications to Microsoft Corp's focus on productivity.
Platform companies have built "the key apps, what they call the killer apps," Zuckerberg said, "but they're not the only apps available."
The FTC sued the Facebook and Instagram owner in July to stop the Within deal and asked the judge to order a preliminary injunction, saying Meta's "campaign to conquer VR" began in 2014 when it acquired Oculus, a VR headset manufacturer.
The trial
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